Responsive Design Case Study

Project Brief

For this project, designers were to find a civil issue topic and create a responsive design to address it. The design included mobile, tablet, and desktop versions to create a truly responsive experience. The topic I chose was voter literacy, as voting is a topical issue as a young adult. Many people in the younger age bracket feel intimated and unaware when it comes to voting, and often opt to not vote at all as a result. While voting rights are increasing for the younger generation, there is a lack of information sources to keep young voters informed. Over the past year, voter turnout was estimated to be 27% for people aged 18 to 29 (Murry, 2022). While this is an improvement from past turnouts, it is still overshadowed by the 59% turnout for ages 41 to 65, and the 71% voter turnout for ages 66 and over (NCSBE, 2022). There is also a recognizable difference in political literacy between ages. A study found the most informed voters were in the 51-70 age range (Baskin, 2020). More programs aimed to inform and motivate younger people when it comes to voting could not only increase participation but allow for more informed decisions. I felt as though this topic was challenging and gave opportunity to exercise my design abilities by creating a useful yet current design to interest and inform young adults. My design would allow users to access news and information, as well as voting opportunities to increase participation from its lower percentage that it currently sits at. 

Design Process and Research

To complete this project, I first began with research on the topic of voter literacy. After understanding the context and issues within the topic, I began design research. I looked into and created a competitive analysis with similar apps, looking into the main focuses of the app, as well as layout choices. Using these insights, I began to create a starting design. Afterwards, I began further design research to build a general style and theme for my design. I then built a style guide for my app to synthesize color, font, and overall atmosphere of the app to create cohesion and direction. I then built a user journey flow chart with Axure RP to create a base for my screen designs.

User Flowchart

From this I began building my screens from start of the user journey to finish using Figma. I began with the mobile layouts, then transitioned these to tablet layouts, and from there created desktop layouts. By using the same style guide and assets, I was able to create a responsive design that changed to fit each platform while staying stylistically consistent. After creating key screens such as the introduction and home screens, I began creating the other pages of the app such as News, Local Information, FAQs, and Bill Information. By sorting the app information into pages, I was able to include multiple aspects into the app without it being visually or informationally overwhelming. My design prioritized balancing information, motivation, and reassurance in order to keep the user keyed in as long as possible. After the basis was finished, I submitted my proposal and draft for review. After reviewing, I prioritized the most suggested revisions and formed a list of alterations. I revised and added to my work to build a stronger design. Once the designs were completed, I prototyped my pages for a working mockup and submitted the finalized work.  

Design Feedback

For feedback, I submitted my proposal and progress to my peers for review. They critiqued the design and topic in order for me to improve my work. The main constructive feedback focused on legibility and font choice, as some designers found areas harder to read and felt that fonts felt cramped in certain contexts. 2 designers commented on font suggestions and 4 designers felt positive about the color palette.

 This is a chance for the younger generations to be heard and to have the right to show what they believe in.
Caleb Mabasa

As for font choice, I feel that it is a good choice, but it can be tweaked in a few areas.
Cecilia Kenehan

The positive aspects were the basis of the app and color palette, so I strengthened those throughout the design. Reviewers also commented that the targeted audience was clear, so I continued to use these design choices to keep the demographic choice clear. Overall, comments concluded that the overall aesthetic of the design was clean and appealing, but work could be done to make areas more legible.

An education application surrounding voting education would be incredible. Perhaps they give some education surrounding what to look for "fine print wise" to help ease the voters mind when making decisions. 
David Gardner

I feel as if the overall look you have chosen appeals to your chosen demographic of the younger generation.
Sydney Vanhercke

From this, I first prioritized font changes, layout changes, overall legibility changes, and more titles to make users more aware on the app. This mainly consisted of contrast and layout improvements, additional information, and tweaks of font choice, and submitted a finalized version.
Sources

Murry, K. (2022, November 18). Gen Z voters make history in polls, but still little progress in percentage. WABE. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://www.wabe.org/gen-z-voters-make-history-in-polls-but-still-little-progress-in-percentage/Links to an external site. 

2022 General Election Turnout. NCSBE. (2022). Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://www.ncsbe.gov/results-data/voter-turnout/2022-general-election-turnoutLinks to an external site. 

Baskin, K. (2020, October 13). Voters' knowledge of political news varies widely, study shows. MIT Sloan. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/voters-knowledge-political-news-varies-widely-study-showsLinks to an external site. 

Melillo, G. (2022, November 11). Researchers say 2022 election had second highest young voter turnout in last 30 years. The Hill. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/3730922-researchers-say-2022-election-had-second-highest-young-voter-turnout-in-last-30-years/Links to an external site.